There were great starts for the host club's Elan 40 Chancer (Brian Carroll) and Denis Murphy's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo from Royal Cork in the inaugural Inishtearaght Race from Kinsale this morning in the brand new Irish offshore yacht race fixture along the Cork and Kerry coasts.

An entry of seven boats started a new chapter in West Cork offshore yacht racing just after 9 am when the small but competitive fleet crossed the Kinsale Yacht Club line.

Cian McCarthy's two-handed Sunfast 3330 Cinnamon Girl Photo: Bob Bateman

The fleet, led by Chancer off the line, set out in 15-20 knot south-westerly conditions and light rain. Forecasts this morning indicate gusts to over 30-knots on the way to the Blasket Islands.

The single Dublin entry in the race is Royal St.George's J/122 Aurelia (Chris Power Smith) Photo: Bob Bateman

Unfortunately, the planned start using a Navy ship did not materialise due to the exigencies of the Naval Service but Club Race Officer Dave O'Sullivan got the fleet underway in a club vessel from the KYC's Charles fort startline inside Kinsale Harbour.

The Inishtearaght Race fleet set out in 15-20 knot south-westerly conditions and light rain Photo: Matthias Hellstern

As Afloat previously reported, the course is approximately 240nm long and will run along the spectacular south coast, round Inistearaght island and back to Kinsale.

Soft day - The Elan 40 Chancer crew all wearing offshore gear in anticipation of a wet trip to the Blaskets Photo: Bob Bateman

The first boats in the Matthews Centre sponsored event are expected home sometime on Saturday evening but as competitor Brian Carroll told Afloat in a podcast here, the fleet is expecting quite a lot of challenging upwind sailing today. 

Cian McCarthy's Cinnamon Girl on starboard and Chris Power Smith's Aurelia on port after the start Photo: Bob Bateman

The Inishtearaght Race fleet emerge from Kinsale harbour with (from left) Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl, Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo, Elan 40 Chancer and Dublin Bay J/122 entry Aurelia to weather  Photo: Matthias HellsternThe breeze is on for (from left) Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo, Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl and Dublin Bay J/122 entry Aurelia to weather  Photo: Matthias Hellstern

The Thuillier family have kindly allowed the oldest trophy in Kinsale YC to be presented as the line honours trophy for the race. The Thuillier Cup is 150 years old, having been originally presented by the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers in 1871 and won by Michael Thuillier. The cup was presented to Kinsale YC by the Thuillier family to acknowledge the long tradition of yacht racing in Kinsale.

Noel Coleman's Oyster 37 Blue Oyster from Royal Cork YC on her way to the Blaskets Photo: Bob Bateman

The inaugural Inishtearaght Race fleet

Bob Bateman's Inishearaght Race Start Photo Gallery below

The idea for the Inishtearaght Race originated because Kinsale sailors thought that the best and most scenic part of the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race is west of Kinsale. So what about a race from Kinsale around the Blaskets and back to Kinsale?

It was discussed at the club, so the first race around the Blaskets, organised by Kinsale Yacht Club, will start this Friday morning.

Two new trophies await the winners of IRC and ECHO and there is a special older trophy reserved for the boat which takes line honours.

Royal Cork's Grand Soleil 40 Nieulargo is entered for Friday's Inishtearaght Race Photo: Bob Bateman

Brian Carroll will be racing on Chancer, the boat of the Carroll Brothers that currently leads the IRC 1 and ECHO 1 fleet in Kinsale’s early Summer cruiser club series.

Cian McCarthy's double-handed Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl is one of four boats from the host club that will race in Friday's Inishtearaght fixture

2022 Kinsale Matthews Inishtearaght Race EntriesThe inaugural seven boat fleet for Kinsale Yacht Club's Inistearaght offshore yacht race

He says it is probably a “bit early for offshore racing” and expects that there will be “quite a bit of beating to the Blaskets and, unfortunately, probably part of the way back as well.”

Chris Power Smith's J122 Aurelia from the Royal St. George is the only Dublin Bay Boat racing to Inishtearaght

That will make it a testing and challenging task for the crews.

Brian Carroll is my guest on this week’s Podcast.

With 50 days to go to the start, Kinsale Yacht Club in West Cork has opened the online entry for its inaugural Inishtearaght Race.

The new Irish offshore fixture race will take place on Friday, 20th May with a first starting gun at 08:55 hrs. 

"We are confident this race will become a regular feature in the offshore racing calendar, we are planning to run the race every second year", Honorary KYC Sailing Secretary Michele Kennelly told Afloat. 

Inishtearaght is the westernmost of the Blasket Islands pictured below and hence the westernmost island of Ireland Credits: via Wikipedia

The race will take the fleet along the coast of West Cork and Kerry, around Inishtearaght and return to finish in Kinsale.

The starting times are planned so that boats would stand the best chance of rounding the island in daylight.

As Afloat reported previously, the race was formally launched last December by KYC Commodore Matthias Hellstern. The first race will be sponsored by Matthews of Cork.

The course will be approximately 240nm long and will run along the spectacular coast of West Cork and Kerry, round Inistearaght and back to Kinsale. 

Enter online here and download the Notice of Race here